Nearly 2,000 props, costumes, and memorabilia from some of the biggest Hollywood movies will be sold at a November auction that is expected to realise over £10 million.
James Bond, Star Wars and Batman items are attracting the headlines in Propstore’s November auction, but the sale includes items from decades of major Hollywood hits.
Star Wars is perhaps the most collectible film franchise of the moment, and costumes and models make huge money.
Propstore are offering a Sandtrooper helmet with an estimate of £250,000 to £500,000.
It is from one of the most celebrated moments in Star Wars lore, the “move along” scene in which Alec Guinness, as Obi Wan Kenobi, shows off his Jedi mind control skills by convincing imperial troopers to leave Luke and his sought-after droids to their business.
In 2005, the squad-sergeant helmet from this scene in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) was auctioned in London. It reached a sale price of £19,200 against a high estimate of £20,000.
The estimate for this sale is a perfect example of the explosion of value in the Star Wars market this century.
The most valuable Star Wars props ever sold are both Rebel space craft, an X-Wing and Y-Wing that feature in the destruction of the Death Star. The X Wing made over £3 million last year; the Y-Wing over $1.5 million earlier this year.
New to market in the sale is a duster coat worn by Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Propstore discovered the item in a costume house in Italy, where the Spaghetti Western series was filmed.
“The duster is synonomous with Western films, and this is deemed to be one of the best Western films of all time. Clint Eastwood costume pieces from these films almost never show up so we’re super excited to have that,” Propstore founder and chief executive Stephen Lane told Reuters.
Harry Potter fans can walk away with Harry’s wand from the first of the film series.
A detail from the original art for the Diamonds are Forever poster. Image courtesy Prop Store.
James Bond fans could be hanging original poster art from Diamonds Are Forever on the wall, while wearing Daniel Craig’s suit from Skyfall.
Fancy recreating the Burton-Taylor romance? You can do it in original gowns and armour from Cleopatra, the 1953 film on which they fell in love.
Add a helmet from Gladiator if you want to take the Roman vibe even further.
Propstore’s sale is a 4-day, online event from November 14. The catalogue is released on October 15.
